For the real meaning of Memorial Day, remembering the sacrifices that have been made, there's a powerful essay written by a trauma surgeon in Iraq about the tragic death of one Marine he treated that might be worth your while to read. Beware: it's completely gruesome, and spares no detail, though is done respectfully. And it has an even doubly tragic ending (you'll have to read it to see what it is.) If you have been to war, you might not need to read this -- you're already plenty in touch with what carnage and sacrifice are all about. If you haven't been, though, it might be a little more eye-opening about what those who serve go through and ultimately sacrifice.
The most impressive part of the story to me, besides the great care the trauma surgeon takes with every battlefield injury, is his love and respect for those he's working for -- and on, a love and respect shared by everyone involved in the course of his workday. The sheer magnitude of what they go through, and its power to numb the human heart and psyche, is astronomical. The fact that they fight through for it not to numb them is even more remarkable. It's a complex human reaction, best expressed by the doctor himself, but it's also summed up centuries ago in the following quote, which we've used before on this blog:
"Anyone who looks with anguish on evils so great must acknowledge the tragedy of it all; and if anyone experiences them without anguish, his condition is even more tragic, since he remains serene by losing his humanity." -- Augustine of Hippo, quoted in One Bullet Away: The Making of a Marine Officer, by Nathaniel Fick.
If you want to read a gory but powerful reflection on the true cost of sacrifice, read "A War Surgeon's Perspective on Memorial Day," by John P. Pryor, M.D., quoted in full on the blog, The Kitchen Table. The reflection is linked here. It's well worth reading, though completely sobering and sad.
Editor's note: For more material along the same lines, there's an OEF/OIF memoir by another doctor who served, "On Call in Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story," by Cdr. Richard Jadick, which is linked here.
